Military Appreciation Day
by mayanpaw
Summary: Ed learns a very valuable lession from a group of Kindergarteners.


**AN: Hello everybody, this is a Thanksgiving Day oneshot. I feel that it's a little angsty at first, but I think that it gets better. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or anything FMA related.**

"This is just a waste of my time." Ed mumbled under his breath as he walked into the large building, earning a few weird looks from the people that he was passing.

"Ed, this is a time honored tradition. And whether you like it or not, you are a part of the military, so you are required to come with." Mustang stated with a sense of irritation.

"So Colonel Bastard, if this is a 'time honored tradition' then why haven't I done any of it in the past 3 years?"

"Ed, watch your language! There are kids here!" Riza lectured before Mustang could retort with some insult about his height.

"Because, you were always out on missions. And this year you're not. Therefore, you are doing this." Mustang said in a voice that practically screamed conversation over.

Ed continued to mumble under his breath. To say that he was in a bad mood was an understatement. _Stupid Fuhrer and his obsession with the military. _The rest of the group were all staring at him, unused to seeing him in the military uniform that they had forced him in. They had also forced him into leaving Al behind, because "how would they be able to explain the enormous suit of armor traveling around with the military". To top it all off, he was returning to the one place that he had vowed never to return to, all the while trying to convince people that he was a massive military supporter, that he knew he wasn't. Oh yes, all of those factors were combing to create a day that he was **not** looking forward to.

"Ok class, now let's give a nice warm welcome to the people who have taken time out of their busy day to come and talk to us for Military Appreciation Day." The teacher said in such a sickeningly sweet voice that you could hear it on the other side of the door. Ed instinctively shuddered. Despite his wishes, Mustang opened the door.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to Colonel Mustang and his team Lt. Hawkeye, Lt. Havoc, Lt. Breda, Lt. Falman, Lt. Fuery, and Lt. Elric." She paused after seeing Ed walked in, as if Ed being there was a mistake.

"Good Morning." The class said in unison, effectively sending a shiver down Ed's spine. _God, they're like robots. _He forced himself to look away from the group of curious looking kids, over to the teacher to his dismay was drooling over the sight of Mustang. However she quickly snapped out of it.

"Ok class, Mr. Mustang here will be telling you about the military." Ed, gagged at the tone of voice that she said Mustang in.

Ed quickly zoned out the sound of Mustangs voice, instead focusing on the room around him, and the creepy way that the kids were staring at him. _What is it with these kids, it's like they've never seen a person before. _

"Ok, now are there any questions?" Mustang asked, bringing Ed out of his mental fog.

"Yeah," a little boy asked, "Why is he with you?" The kid pointed.

"Fullmetal?" Roy prompted, with a hint of amusement.

"Well," Ed started, unsure of how to answer, "I'm a State Alchemist, so therefore I'm a part of the military. As Mustang said, my title is the Fullmetal Alchemist, and um… yeah." He finished lamely.

"How old are you?" A little girl asked, before Mustang could add anything on.

"I'm fifteen…" Ed said hesitantly.

"Well, you look a lot younger then that. I mean, you're too short. Are you sure that you're fifteen?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Ed seethed.

"Ed…" Riza said warningly, placing a hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down.

"Why is your hair so long?" Somebody else asked.

"Ok… let's ask someone else questions now." The teacher said, clearly embarrassed. Ed however, was not willing to stay there, knowing that they would soon begin to ask him questions again.

Ed leaned over and, despite, or maybe because, Mustang was talking, told Riza, "Hey Riza, I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Ed…"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything." And before Riza could say anything else, Ed walked out, thankful that she couldn't pull out her gun and force him to return.

_Now what am I gonna do? _He settled on just wandering the halls. However he stopped when he reached the bathrooms. The large mirror in the front made Ed want to start retching. The sight of him in the blue military uniform was as unnatural as Winry being nice to him for no reason. He took his coat off, but that only made it worse, because then the butt coat (_seriously, a butt coat?!?!_) was impossible to miss. It made him wonder why more people didn't just refuse to wear the stupid uniform.

Unwilling to spend anymore time in front of the mirror, Ed continued down the maze of hallways. _I wonder if I could get any food in this place. _Ed tried to find his way to the cafeteria, but soon found himself in the area of Kindergarten classrooms. He soon found himself looking at the work that had been hung on the wall.

_What I'm thankful for…_Ed read. _Huh, must be for Thanksgiving. Is that coming up soon? _Curious, Ed read on.

_My family_

_My health_

_My home _

_My puppy_

_The military keeps me safe _(Ed laughed out loud at that one)

_My friends_

_My toys_

_My food_

The list went on and on. Ed found that couldn't read on. He left the hallway and wandered outside, trying to get the lists out of his mind. He soon passed the playground and sat down, watching the children playing. _They don't know how lucky they have it. I destroyed my family, and because of that I lost my arm. I have no home, the only home that I had, I burnt down. And I won't even let Al have any pets because I'm scarred that it'll end up hurt or dying, just like everybody else in my life. Oh, and because of the military, everybody hates me, even my own alchemy teacher. I have no friends, at least none that are willing to come with me when I travel. I can't buy anything that I can't bring with me on the road. And when it comes to food…most days I don't even know when I'm gonna eat, much less be able to sit down for dinner. _

Ed looked up at the playground. Everybody was laughing, immersed in their games and oblivious to the problems of the world outside of them. Finally, Ed could no longer stand to watch everybody else's perfectly happy life. He stood up and began to walk down the streets of central, where he received a few looks. Ignoring them he continued to contemplate. _Why did my life have to be like this? Why did my mother have to die? I was just a little kid. Al and I did nothing to deserve it. If it wasn't for her death, none of this would've happened. I would still have my arm, Al would still have his body, and Mom…_

Ed's thought was cut off as a young boy ran into him. "Hey kid!" Ed began yelling, but then soon stopped as he saw the look of pure terror in his red eyes. _Why is he so…oh right, my uniform. _Ed moved forward to calm him down, but the minute he moved, the boy fled, leaving Ed behind. _And I thought that I had it bad, that poor kid has probably never known peace. _With that thought on his mind, Ed walked back to the military dorms.

Later that night when Al returned back to the dorms, he was unsurprised to find that Ed was fast asleep. However, he was surprised to find the bright red piece of paper on the table. Al quickly read it and, if he could, smiled to himself. "Brother." He gently laid the paper back down on the table and left the room to try and find out the price of tickets to Risembool.

_What I'm Thankful For…By Edward Elric._

_My Family, even though my mom might not still be alive, I have my brother Al, who has gone through so much worse then me, yet somehow can still keep a bright view on life. _

_My health, although I may not have my arm, I have never been really sick. And my automail has never given me any problems, and is probably one of the best weapons that I have._

_My home, although I burned down the house that I grew up in, I still have a home. Winry and Pinako are always waiting for me to return and always let me stay. I always know that I can return, no matter what happens._

_My pets, yeah, I may not have any pets right now, but I know that I will be able to have one in the future. I know that when all of this is over and Al has his body back, I will go out and buy him the fluffiest kitten I can find, and maybe even find myself a stray dog, because even strays need a home._

_The military, yeah, I may hate some of the things that they do, but without them, I would be unable to have the things that I have and I would be unable to find the things that I need to get Al's body back. _

_My friends, without my friends, I know that I wouldn't be where I am today. Without Winry and Pinako, well, I don't know what I'd do. And the Tringham brothers told us about the red water and its connection to the Philosophers Stone. And all of my friends in the military, I know that they'd do anything to protect Al and I._

_My toys, well I may be a little old for toys, but I'm thankful that I have the ability to buy them. Some people don't have enough money to buy extra things like that, yet I have enough to not only buy things for myself, but for my friends and people who need them._

_My food, although I may be on the road all the time, I know that I have the ability to get enough food that I need. Too many people can't feed themselves or their family, yet I have more then enough money to feed myself._

_I may have gone through a lot of stuff that I shouldn't have happened to me, I have so much more then a lot of people can hope for. I have a family, health, home, dreams for my future, a good job, loyal friends, enough money to take care of myself, and enough food that I need. And no matter what happens, at least I have been lucky to have had what I have. So, to whoever reads this, please take time to count your blessings and have a Happy Thanksgiving._

_Signed,_

_Edward Elric _


End file.
